Seven young people died early Sunday morning in a southeastern Utah crash that combined alcohol and high speeds. That ought to be a lesson for all of us, but it seems to be a lesson we have trouble learning.

Human nature being what it is, too many people believe that it can never happen to them. Statistically, it’s true that most people who drive drunk don’t die of it. Some of them kill innocent travelers who happen to be sharing the road at that particular time. Some intoxicated drivers survive accidents that might have killed a sober driver.

What the statistics also tell us is that accidents, injuries and fatalities go way up on holiday weekends. Part of the reason is that more people are on the road. The primary factor, though, is that more of those people have been drinking.

The Fourth of July is a particularly frightening example. The weather’s hot, so everyone drinks more, and a lot of them drink beer. The festivities are at the end of the day, and so people are driving home in heavy traffic while they’re tired and intoxicated.

Americans need to learn that they can have a good time without alcohol. If our friends only seem witty when we’re drunk, we don’t need more to drink, we need different friends. If life only seems bearable after three drinks, we need to make changes. Anyone who doesn’t have anything else to do for ‘fun’ but drink, needs to get a life.